Army

Iron Trophy

The long overdue program to merge IMI's Iron Fist and RAFAEL's Trophy has finally come to fruition with the Iron Trophy Active Protection System. Utilising Trophy's sensor architecture and Iron Fist's point defense interceptor mechanism alongside the conventional Trophy defense, Iron Trophy will be the most advanced Active Protection System in the world, capable of protecting a vehicle from up to 2 simultaneous APFSDS projectiles in tests, as well as maintaining Trophy's effectiveness against rocket/missile projectiles.

Carmel

Looking around the world, at the current and future planned models of IFV, the IDF sees decades of stagnation, with newer models of armoured vehicles only focused on increasing what's already known, balancing the trifecta of speed, protection and firepower. With the advanced technologies surrounding the defense sector today, it would be a shame if we can't come up with a revolutionary design that gives us all 3.

Carmel is a future tracked AFV family for the IDF, designed to consist of a family of vehicles to function from both a mobile gun platform, IFV, Recon, Anti-Armour or Combat Engineering. Started a few years ago as a competition for Israel's 3 most prominent defense contractors, RAFAEL, IAI and Elbit Systems, Carmel aim to produce a revolutionary design that would be at least 10 years ahead of its competition. Carmel is in essence, a 5th generation fighter jet incarnated as a ground vehicle.

There are 3 prototype variants of Carmel, produced by each of RAFAEL, Elbit Systems and IAI. Though designed only to be technology demonstrator, the IDF has been so thoroughly impressed with the various designs that the final Future Combat Vehicle design would be derived from the existing Elbit Systems chassis, with RAFAEL and IAI ELTA Land Systems as subcontractors alongside others.

As designed, the most advanced Armoured Fighting Vehicle in the world, Carmel utilises advanced closed hatch and automation technology, allowing for a reduction of crews down to 2 crews in a protected glass cockpit with an optional 3rd for specialist systems, equipped with heads up display, virtual helmet system called Iron Vision with its "see-through armour" feature, giving an unprecedented level of sensor fusion and situational awareness.

Central to Carmel is ATHENA, an Artificial Intelligence C6I and Combat Management System that learns from combat scenarios using Deep/Machine Learning (Dubbed AEGIS on land, or ALIS on land). This provides for unprecedented level of rapid decision making and threat identification/prioritisation, distinguishing enemies from civilians through autonomous facial recognition, and rendering conventional camouflage useless through its machine learning pattern recognition. ATHENA also provides cross datalink with other ground systems, UAVs, Attack Helicopters or Fighter Jets, directing and managing threats while using the intelligence given from other platforms to provide a clear view of the battlefield.

Other advanced systems on the Carmel that would be integrated with ATHENA's sensor fusion includes the EL/I-3312 compact target acquisition systems providing a real-time situational awareness and provide counterbattery information on both artillery and gunfire to trace firing sources, tracking and highlighting them. Directing its weapons is the EL/M-2135 STORMGUARD providing accurate information on target acquisition up to all ground targets (including humans) within the horizon, as well as further aerial targets. OTHELLO's EL/O-5220 is a passive multi-spectral sensor system which alongside Iron Trophy's EL/M-2133 WiNDGUARD provides for continuous 360 degrees coverage protecting the vehicle. SupervisIR is a Infrared Wide Area Persistent Surveillance System for surveillance, deployable by the Carmel, while MAY acoustic situational awareness system detects sound as well as uses sonar for maximum situational awareness.

Alongside these sensors are a number of systems such as the RAFAEL Remote Control Weapons Station (RCWS), Spike NLOS missiles, VTOL loitering munitions such as the Green Dragon, Rotem L or Harpy NG, and other decoys and Electronic Warfare systems. These systems are coupled with RAFAEL's FIREWEAVER Networked Targeting and Control System, providing real-time designation, targetting and coordination, for simultaneous engagement of multiple targets in seconds.

But beyond the electronics and other technological architecture that bores the uninitiated, what are Carmel's main distinguishing characteristics? Speed, armour, firepower, etc. Carmel uses a new doctrinal approach in design. By reducing the amount of crews thanks to automation, the crew could be heavily protected using essentially barely any armour compared to previous vehicles, with requirement only to be able to resist anti-material rifles. Iron Trophy alongside a never seen before situational awareness also further protects the vehicle, granting it extreme protection even in urban combat scenarios, working in tandem with unmanned ground systems. Thanks to a far lighter design coupled with a hybrid-electric propulsion, Carmel can reach speeds that are essentially sports car like for an AFV, up to 90km/h on road. State of the art Aluminium-Air Batteries will provide for the extreme power demands that Carmel requires while also being extremely compact. It also has the added benefit of allowing Carmel to go essentially silent by swapping to electric propulsion. This complements Carmel's already extremely effective stealth using the Active Camouflage system designed by BAE Systems in cooperation with IAI ELTA Land Systems based on ADAPTIV.

Firepower wise Carmel will be equipped with an autonomous 40mm SUPERSHOT unmanned turret controlled by ATHENA (Capable of launching APFSDS projectiles, alongside high explosive and other munitions), as well as a single remote controlled weapons station for supporting rifle fire, missile and drone launcher or a direct high power energy package (solid state laser for anti-drone, high power MASER for anti-personnel, operating by burning the underskin fat of enemy infantry or vehicle operators).

An export version of Carmel called Carmel-E is also in the works and Elbit Systems is currently taking orders.

ABC(X)

The IDF refuses to comment on this program, aside from the fact that it will fulfill the IDF's goal of transitioning to one third robotics/AI by 2030.